OffScript takes on big issues through an artistic lens. Hear artists, filmmakers, musicians, theatre makers and more explore the challenges facing society today, and follow the journey towards Dash Arts own productions.
In each episode Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton hosts conversations delving into ideas that expand our own understanding of the world and context of our productions, and continue to shape the cultural landscape worldwide.
“A podcast which thinks about the world through art” — Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
OffScript takes on big issues through an artistic lens. Hear artists, filmmakers, musicians, theatre makers and more explore the challenges facing society today, and follow the journey towards Dash Arts own productions.
In each episode Dash Arts' Artistic Director Josephine Burton hosts conversations delving into ideas that expand our own understanding of the world and context of our productions, and continue to shape the cultural landscape worldwide.
“A podcast which thinks about the world through art” — Miranda Sawyer, The Observer
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Through a series of live and digital conversations - we’re exploring how artists and activists challenge, inspire, and motivate us to see the world differently.
Join Josephine Burton as she sits down with musician and artist Ian Bruce and campaigner Clare Farrell to discuss creativity, activism, and the courage to imagine radical change. In this groundbreaking episode, hear how artists are transforming protest, challenging systemic barriers, and creating spaces for people to come together.
From Extinction Rebellion to grassroots movements, discover how creative individuals are reimagining democracy, confronting climate crisis, and building solidarity. Provocative, inspiring, and deeply human, their conversation reveals how we can all play a role in changing the world.
Recorded in the Bureau of Silly Ideas on the 7th anniversary of Clare co-founding Extinction Rebellion.
Get your tickets for the live events for We Are Free To Change The World by going to the Dash Arts website : https://www.dasharts.org.uk/we-are-free
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
This podcast is marked explicit for language only.
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In part 2 we’re looking at the impact of politics on the most recent productions from Dash Arts. We explore our 2025 production of The Reckoning, which brought real-life testimonies from Ukraine to the stage, and the upcoming 2026 production of Our Public House, inspired by speeches from people across England.
Marina Pesenti, former Director of the Ukrainian Institute, looks back at how more than a decade of artistic research, events and productions deepened our understanding of the Ukrainian context and enriched the work. Similarly, playwright Barney Norris reflects on the challenges of continuing to navigate the shifting political and social landscape in the UK and its influence on Our Public House.
Go to the Dash Arts website for your tickets to We Are Free To Change The World; a new series of three Dash Cafés exploring how artists and creative activists respond to the urgency of our times. Through performance, film and conversation, each event will bring together creative voices to consider how we act and how we do this together.
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
And you can hear audio taken from Dash Arts’ production of The Reckoning at Arcola Theatre in May-June 2025
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In this special two-part series, we're celebrating Dash Arts' 20th birthday by looking back at how politics has impacted our work over the past two decades.
In episode one, join Josephine Burton as she explores how artists and creative activists respond to the urgency of our times. Hear from storyteller Sophie Austin on our production of One Thousand and One Nights, which challenged preconceived notions of Arabic culture, and from musician Sasha Ilyukevich who performed in our Dash Arts Dachas, some of which were covertly visited by the Russian Embassy.
Discovering how our mission to challenge the way we see the world is woven into our DNA, and how life and global politics have consistently broken down the walls into the theatre.
With music from Sasha Ilyukevich & The Highly Skilled Migrants entitled KOLYA - КОЛЯ.
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
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From working with rappers in Beiruti basements to gathering musicians from all the conservatoires of ex-Soviet Republics in the mountains of Georgia and wild late nights in a tent with the Dash Arts Dacha, this episode celebrates the music and sounds woven through the last 20 years of Dash Arts.
Josephine Burton acts as a guide across Dash Arts’ many musical projects, sharing stories and music from Dash’s multi-year seasons of artistic work. We hear about Dash’s journeys in the Arabic world, former Soviet States, Europe and its current season exploring Englishness, with Albion. This episode is an invitation to listen in on two decades of music that continues to challenge, delight, and change how we hear the world.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Marie Horner - Podcast Producer, Dash Arts
We also hear from and celebrate these incredible artists:
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
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After 32 performances, more than 1,700 bowls of salad and a clutch of four and five star reviews; our 5 week opening run of The Reckoning has drawn to a close.
In this episode we wanted to share with you some of the incredible voices and stories who joined us at Arcola in Dalston in calling for justice for Ukraine.
Written by Anastasiia Kosodii and Josephine Burton, and directed by Burton, The Reckoning is a vivid and powerful new play about war, survival and the fragile trust between those who uncover the truth and those who must live with it.
This is our last episode before we have a summer holiday so we’ll be back in September!
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Marie Horner - Podcast Producer, Dash Arts
Janine di Giovanni - Journalist and Executive Director of The Reckoning Project
And reflections and performances recorded live at the Arcola Theatre
Dr Olesya Khromeychuk - Writer and Director of Ukrainian Institute, London
Peter Pomerantsev - Journalist, Author and Executive Editor at The Reckoning Project
Tsvetelina van Benthem - Senior Legal Advisor at The Reckoning Project and Lecturer at Oxford University
Viv Groskop - Author and Journalist
Luke Harding - Journalist and Author
Olia Hercules - Chef, Food Writer and Author
Dr Yulia Ioffe - International Lawyer & Associate Professor of Humanitarian Law and Human Rights at University College London
Nataliya Gumenyuk - Journalist and CEO of Public Interest Journalism Lab
Tom Godwin - Actor, The Reckoning
Marianne Oldham - Actor, The Reckoning
Olga Safronova - Actor, The Reckoning
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Music from The Reckoning by Anton Baibakov
We’d like to that the following supporters; The Reckoning Project, AHRC Impact Acceleration Account Award from the University of Cambridge, Public Interest Journalism Lab, Open Society Foundations, Nick Tranter in the name of 4Ukraine Humanitarian Aid, Fritt Ord Foundation, Goethe-Institut in Exile, Goethe-Institut London, SAV Group, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, The Golsoncott Foundation, and the many individuals who have made this possible.
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This month Dash’s brand new production, The Reckoning, opens at The Arcola Theatre in Dalston. Co-Writer and Director Josephine Burton gives you a taste of what to expect from this vivid and powerful new play about war, survival and the fragile trust between those who uncover the truth and those who must live with it.
Book your tickets for The Reckoning on the Arcola Theatre’s website.
Based on real events within The Reckoning Project’s verified archive of witness testimonies of the Russian war in Ukraine, The Reckoning is playful and unsettling, blending storytelling with movement, music and cooking.
As the performance ends, the conversation continues in Food for Thought. Audiences will be invited to hear reflections from expert speakers, journalists, lawyers, and those with lived experience of the conflict.
Written by Anastasiia Kosodii and Josephine Burton, and directed by Burton.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Tom Godwin - The Man from Stoyanka
Marianne Oldham - The Journalist
Olga Safronova - Olga / Echo
Simeon Kylsyi - Sam / Echo
Marie Horner - Podcast Producer
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Music from The Reckoning by Anton Baibakov
We’d like to that the following supporters; The Reckoning Project, Royal Victoria Hall Foundation, AHRC Impact Acceleration Account Award from the University of Cambridge, Public Interest Journalism Lab, Open Society Foundations, Nick Tranter in the name of 4Ukraine Humanitarian Aid, Fritt Ord Foundation, Goethe-Institut in Exile, Goethe-Institut London, SAV Group, The Golsoncott Foundation, and the many individuals who have made this possible.
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What is the role of the artist when faced with social and political unrest?
This month as protests take place across the world, we’ve been thinking of the long history between art and protest. Every day this month Georgians, Turks, Americans and Serbians are on the streets speaking out against the country’s ruling governments.
At Dash Arts we make art that challenges the world we all live in and this month we open our new theatre production, The Reckoning; based on witness testimonies from the Russian war in Ukraine.
Join Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton, as she revisits our 2024 interview with critically acclaimed journalist Peter Pomerantsev and catch up with Georgian Artist and Activist Ana Riaboshenko on what it’s been like since the Georgian Dream party, widely seen as pro-Russian, maintained its majority in last year’s elections. Professor Alan Finlayson also shares his insights from his new book - Our Subversive Voice: The History and Politics of English Protest Songs, 1600–2020.
Book your tickets for The Reckoning on the Arcola Theatre’s website.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Peter Pomerantsev - Journalist and Author
Ana Riaboshenko - Artist & one of the Initiators of Culture for Democracy
Professor Alan Finlayson - Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
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Join us round the kitchen table with acclaimed Ukrainian chef Olia Hercules and Dash’s Artistic Director Josephine Burton as they weave together cooking and storytelling in our latest production.
Dash’s new production, The Reckoning, is a vivid and powerful new play about war, survival and the fragile trust between those who uncover the truth and those who must live with it.
Co-writers Anastasiia Kosodii and Josephine Burton created the play from The Reckoning Project’s verified archive of witness testimonies of the Russian war in Ukraine. Find out why Olia’s insights and beautiful cooking is so vital to our staging of these experiences.
To book tickets or to read more about The Reckoning see the Dash Arts website.
If you haven’t already, you can hear the other episodes of this podcast mini-series on The Reckoning where we explore our process towards production, speaking to author and journalist Peter Pomerantsev on why he shared the testimonies with Dash as well as Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Olia Hercules - Chef & The Reckoning Food Consultant
Zoë Hurwitz - The Reckoning Set Designer
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi and throughout you can hear Tykho feat Syoda by composer of The Reckoning, Anton Baibakov.
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What does it mean to be at loggerheads with reality?
"If a person who is at loggerheads with reality possesses an artistic gift... he can transform his phantasies into artistic creations instead of symptoms."
— Sigmund Freud, Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (1910)
In this episode of the Dash Arts Podcast, Artistic Director Josephine Burton dives into two powerful exhibitions that challenge how we understand women, art, and mental health:
🖼 Women & Freud: Patients, Pioneers, Artists – curated by Lisa Appignanesi and Bryony Davies
🎨 Charlotte Johnson Wahl: What It Felt Like – at Bethlem Museum of the Mind
Both exhibitions showcase art that reframes women’s stories and reclaims narratives of mental wellbeing.
Josephine is joined by writer and long-term Dash Arts collaborator Hattie Naylor to discuss these themes in the context of their latest project, The Degenerates—a new production that will explore the overlooked female artists of Dr. Hans Prinzhorn’s groundbreaking collection.
From 1919 to 1922, Prinzhorn gathered extraordinary artworks from psychiatric patients across Europe, publishing The Artistry of the Mentally Ill—a book that profoundly influenced 20th-century art. But while his collection celebrated creativity beyond the bounds of convention, many female artists were left out of the story. The Degenerates seeks to set the record straight.
Listen as we uncover hidden histories, challenge perceptions, and explore the intersection of art, mental health, and power.
See pictures from the two exhibitions on the Dash Arts podcast page. And you can follow our research towards The Degenerates on the Dash Arts blog: https://www.dasharts.org.uk/blog/our-artistic-director-on-research-for-a-new-dash-production
In this episode we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director of Dash Arts
Hattie Naylor - Writer & Visual Artist
Lisa Appignanesi - Writer and Curator
Colin Gale - Director of Bethlam Museum of the Mind
Rebecca Raybone - Collections and Exhibitions Officer Bethlam Museum of the Mind
Marie Horner - Podcast Producer of Dash Arts
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Join us in the rehearsal room as we craft a new epic - an origin story that celebrates and redefines the migration experience.
Songs of Solidarity (the current working title for Dash Arts and Projekt Europa’s new project) brings together artists, researchers, and refugees to co-create a powerful music-theatre performance.
In this episode we look at what makes epics, epic. We explore ancient epics like Kalevala, Gilgamesh, and the Odyssey with academics and then, with migrant artists, asylum seekers and refugees, investigate how we can create new ones rooted in solidarity, displacement, and friendship across time.
You can see more in our short film and there’s more to come throughout 2025.
In this episode we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director of Dash Arts
Professor Fiona Macintosh - Emeritus Professor of Classical Reception, University of Oxford
Maria Aberg - Artistic Director of PROJEKT EUROPA
Marouf Majidi - composer and musician
Sabrina Mahfouz - writer and poet
Luca Macchi - actor and musician
Namvula Rennie - actor and musician
Chen Xu - actor and musician
Natalia Kakarkina - actor and musician
Surya Chandra - actor and musician
Songs of Solidarity is a PROJEKT EUROPA and Dash Arts co-production. This first phase of R&D was co-produced with the Cultural Programme at Oxford University, in partnership with the Archive of Performances of Greek and Roman Drama at Oxford University, Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, and Asylum Welcome. We're particularly grateful to Fiona Macintosh for her support and encouragement.
Our gratitude goes to all the wonderful international artists, academics and participants who enriched our project.
Find out more at:
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How can the arts help us to encounter others?
In December 2024, we were part of a fantastic live discussion at the RSA (Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) discussing how the arts can unlock unheard voices. This podcast brings you some highlights from the event with some extra insights and updates from our Dash Arts Artistic Director Josephine Burton.
Hosted by Tom Stratton (Chief of Staff at RSA), our Artistic Director and Chief Executive Josephine Burton was joined on stage by Alan Finlayson (Professor of Political & Social Theory, University of East Anglia), Alecky Blythe (Playwright), and Dawid Konotey-Ahulu (co-founder of Redington, Mallowstreet, and 10,000 Interns). Sue Agyakwa whom we met in a speech-making workshop in Newham earlier in 2024, also, kindly, shared her speech live.
Josephine and Alan shared what they've learnt from their 18 month long speech making workshop programme across the country that will culminate in Dash Arts’ 'state of the nation' theatre production, Our Public House, in 2026.
Our Public House is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, The Thistle Trust, Three Monkies Trust, and individual giving.
You can watch the full event by visiting the RSA’s website or their YouTube Channel.
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“All good art is an attempt to wrestle with truth”
In the fourth episode on the journey towards our production, The Reckoning, Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton is in conversation with Author and Playwright Gillian Slovo discussing the power of theatre and the responsibilities involved in bringing real people’s stories to the stage. As Dash Arts prepares to produce a theatre production rooted in the testimonies of survivors of the war in Ukraine, Josephine searches for insights into how to create powerful drama whilst doing justice to the people who have lent their stories. Gillian shares her experiences of listening to the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 and looking after their words as she crafted the verbatim drama, Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors for the National Theatre.
Support this year’s Big Give: Help Bring The Reckoning to Life and Double Your Impact!
Help Dash Arts bring Reckoning to life, a powerful documentary-style production based on Ukrainian testimonies. Premiering in 2025 and marking three years of war, Reckoning will spark vital conversations on the impact of war and possibility of restorative justice. Your donation will be doubled during the Big Give Christmas Challenge which is live from Tuesday 3 to Tuesday 10 December. Please help us reach our £5,000 goal!
Follow this link for more information and to donate from 3 December Reckoning - a new, groundbreaking work of theatre
If you haven’t already, you can hear the other episodes of this podcast mini-series on The Reckoning where we explore our process towards production, speaking to author and journalist Peter Pomerantsev on why he shared the testimonies with Dash as well as hear from Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Gillian Slovo - Author and Playwright
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Thank you to Jonathan Levy and Gabrielle Rifkind for hosting our live conversation.
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In the third episode on the journey towards our production, The Reckoning, Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton is in conversation with Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge. Interspersed by some short performances from the developing script, the two discuss the creative process behind the making of the production, rooted in testimonies taken from survivors from the Russian war in Ukraine.
Support this year’s Big Give: Help Bring Reckoning to Life and Double Your Impact!
Help Dash Arts bring The Reckoning to life, a powerful documentary-style production based on Ukrainian testimonies. Premiering in 2025 and marking three years of war, The Reckoning will spark vital conversations on the impact of war and possibility of restorative justice. Your donation will be doubled during the Big Give Christmas Challenge which is live from Tuesday 3 to Tuesday 10 December. Please help us reach our £5,000 goal!
Follow this link for more information and to donate from 3 December The Reckoning - a new, groundbreaking work of theatre
If you haven’t already, you can hear episodes one and two from this podcast mini-series on The Reckoning where we explore the beginnings of the piece and later speak to author and journalist Peter Pomerantsev on why he shared the testimonies with Dash.
Thank you to our partners and funders Cambridge Festival, Cambridge Junction, the Ukrainian Studies Department at the University of Cambridge, Open Society Foundations, the Fritt Ord Foundation, Goethe-Institut in Exile, Goethe-Institut in London and individual giving.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Rory Finnin - Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge
Sam Kyslyi - Performer
Mark Quartley - Performer
Underscore and sound design by Anton Baibakov
Our intro music is Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
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More than half the world's population is voting in elections this year. Dash Arts dives into one of those elections, speaking to artists in Georgia about how they are responding to the political turmoil in their country. The ruling party, Georgian Dream, is fighting for an unprecedented fourth term at the end of October 2024 and continues to be accused of silencing free speech, taking control of arts and culture and using fear to intimidate any criticism.
As part of Dash Arts’ exploration into protest and the public voice, Josephine Burton speaks to three Georgian artist activists who are uniting artists from across the sector, shouting for democracy and pushing for change.
In this episode you will hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Thomas De Waal - Journalist, author & specialist in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus region
Ana Riaboshenko - Artist & one of the Initiators of Culture for Democracy
Paata Tsikolia - Theatre Director and Playwright
Levan Mindiashvilii - Artist
Thanks to Mariam Uberi and musician Aleksandre Kharanauli. Hear his work on Spotify.
To hear more podcasts on protest, art and activism by visiting the Dash website.
Levani’s art - https://levanm.com/
More information (in Georgian) on Culture for Democracy: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61556194792093
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“I’ve long nurtured a dream to get out and finally explore what it was about the forests and seas of Laulasmaa, ‘the land of song’, in Estonia that inspired Arvo Pärt and so many musicians.”
Join Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton as she travels to the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa, Estonia to investigate the mystical musical relationship between nature and the people of Estonia
From the Arvo Pärt Centre Josephine wanders the forest, swims in the sea and explores Helikula, ‘the village of sound’, where musicians from the Union of Composers were given summer houses during Soviet Times.
We started collaborating in October 2020 during the pandemic with a widely celebrated online event with the Arvo Pärt Centre combining a pre-recorded concert and a conversation with musicians Andres Kaljuste, Sophia Rahman and Arvo’s son Michael Pärt. You can hear this previous episode here.
For more on the trip you can read Josephine’s blog and see more photographs of the incredible Estonian landscape on the Dash Arts website.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Michael Pärt - Music Editor and Chairman of the Arvo Pärt Centre
Sophia Rahman - Pianist
Andres Kaljuste - Violinist
Rein Lang - Former Minister of Culture of Estonia
Liisa Hirsch - Composer
Kristina Norman - Artist
Title music by Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Compositions by Arvo Pärt played by Sophia Rahman and Andres Kaljuste:
Fratres
Für Alina
Spiegel im Spiegel
With thanks to the Estonian Ministry of Culture and Estonian Cultural Counsellor in London for enabling Josephine’s trip.
Artwork: A PHOTO JOSEPHINE’S TRIP
Reference to the previous episode (Jan 2021) - https://open.spotify.com/episode/7pN6oLyNmgxVEqjNjZW8Dg?si=34666bcd1c984ba6
Blog link - https://www.dasharts.org.uk/blog/arvo-prts-inspiration-discovering-the-magic-of-estonias-forests-and-sounds
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On 4th July millions of UK voters will take to the polls. Candidates are vying for our attention through speeches and debates. In this special episode Artistic Director, Josephine Burton, catches up with four former speech-making workshop participants across the country on how they are experiencing the election campaign, and analyses our political candidates and the quality of their speechmaking with Alan Finlayson, Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia, and collaborator on our national workshops.
To find out more about our plans for the theatre production go to www.dasharts.org.uk/our-public-house
Our Public House is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, National Theatre’s Generate Programme, Three Monkies Trust, The Thistle Trust, and individual giving.
In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:
Kate, Max, Devika and Jonathan - Workshop Participants
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Professor Alan Finlayson - Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia
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Whilst the country builds up to a general election, we’re in the midst of creating Our Public House, Dash Arts’ state-of-the-nation theatre production.
Hear from Artistic Director Josephine Burton and playwright Barney Norris on how our play weaves together the ideas and speeches of over 150 voices from across England and the ever shifting political landscape. Plus catch us in the rehearsal room at Theatre Royal Stratford East, performing some of the draft script and songs on stage at HOME in Manchester and in a speech-making workshop with Manchester Deaf Centre as we reflect on the long research and development process behind a Dash Arts production.
Our Public House is funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), Arts Council England, The Thistle Trust, Three Monkies Trust, and individual giving.
In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Barney Norris - Writer, Our Public House
Professor Alan Finlayson - Professor of Political and Social Theory at the University of East Anglia
Cristina Catalina - Senior Producer, Dash Arts
Jonathan Walton - composer and musician
Nick Pynn - composer and musician
Mina Anwar - actor & singer
Matt Hill - composer and musician
And the participants from the speech-making workshops around the country.
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In the still of a spring night, we journey into the woods with musicians Sam Lee and Jack Durtnall to hear the beautiful and increasingly rare song of the nightingale with a concert and conversation around the campfire.
Artistic Director Josephine Burton treads lightly in the footsteps of a historic partnership between the nightingale and humans. The BBC’s first ever live outside broadcast was recorded exactly 100 years ago in May 1924 as cellist Beatrice Harrison played alongside a nightingale. Our episode is the start of a new series of Dash Arts podcasts exploring the relationship between art and nature, and part of Dash's current season, Albion; an investigation of modern Englishness in all its complexity. Join us as we travel across landscape and language, digging deep into folk and written histories, oral traditions, music, storytelling, theatre and performance.
Visit the Singing With Nightingales website to find out more about Sam’s work and to join him on such a magical evening in the woods.
In the podcast we’re grateful to hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director of Dash Arts
Sam Lee - Musician and Conservationist
Jack Durtnall - Musician
Audience members from Singing with Nightingales
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“In many ways, I owe everything to the band.”
It’s been over 25 years since two students ran into each other on a street corner in Oxford and decided to set up a band. Oi Va Voi, rooted in Jewish and Eastern European musical traditions, would eventually reach hundreds and thousands of people across the world.
Dash’s Artistic Director Josephine Burton and Jonathan Walton, also known as Lemez Lovas, knew they needed more people and more instruments. Soon after Sophie Solomon, Steve Levi, Leo Bryant, Nik Ammar and Josh Breslaw joined the band and they began fusing together klezmer, jazz, funk and drum and bass.
Last summer, their breakout album, Laughter Through Tears, turned 20 and the band marked it with a celebratory reunion gig at EartH in Hackney. In this episode we hear from the original members of the band and moments from last summer’s reunion.
As with all enduring families - there have been many moments when both life inside and outside the band got really tough, but Oi Va Voi lives on and this podcast celebrates these stories, the music and the people who made it. Josephine also shares why Dash Arts delayed releasing this episode back in October 2023.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts and former Singer, Oi Va Voi
Jonathan Walton/Lemez Lovas - former Trumpeter, Oi Va Voi
Josh Breslaw - Drummer, Oi Va Voi
Leo Bryant - former Bassist, Oi Va Voi
Sophie Solomon - former Violinist, Oi Va Voi
Nik Ammar - former Guitarist, Oi Va Voi
Steve Levi - Clarinetist, Oi Va Voi
KT Tunstall - former Singer, Oi Va Voi
Music:
Recorded live at EartH, Hackney on 22nd July 2023. Used with permission of Oi Va Voi.
Intro: Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
Artwork:
Album Cover taken from an early ep, Odessa, recorded in early 2000. Photo credit lost in the mists of time!
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In this second episode on the journey towards our production, The Reckoning, we hear from journalist and author, Peter Pomerantsev who co-founded The Reckoning Project and who first shared with Dash the hundreds of witness testimonies from survivors of the Russian war in Ukraine. Dash’s Artistic Director, Josephine Burton and Podcast Producer, Marie Horner hear about Peter’s motivations for starting the project and why he asked Dash to bring these stories to the stage. The Reckoning Project trains journalists to work with lawyers and analysts to collect stories of the horrors of war, detentions, torture and shelling that can be submitted as evidence in court.
Peter and Josephine explore the relationship between the lawyers, journalists and witnesses, and how this has influenced Dash’s production. We also hear from Peter’s colleagues at The Reckoning Project, Nataliya Gumenyuk and Kostiantyn Korobov, on what has changed since the war began two years ago and what justice could look like for the people they speak to.
Peter joined us while he was in London to promote his new book, How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler. To find out more visit Faber’s website.
Josephine will be sharing more about the production in Cambridge on Wednesday 20th March alongside Rory Finnin, Professor of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Cambridge. Get your tickets here.
In the podcast, we hear from:
Josephine Burton - Artistic Director, Dash Arts
Peter Pomerantsev - Journalist and Author
Nataliya Gumenyuk - Journalist
Kostiantyn Korobov - Archivist
Marie Horner - Podcast Producer
Music by Fakiiritanssi by Marouf Majidi
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